Thorn Makes College Basketball's "Players to Watch List"

Provo, UT (Nov. 18, 2002) BYU Senior All-American Erin Thorn was just named to the 2002-2003 College Basketball "Players to Watch List," by Premier Sports Management, the organization that oversees the Annual Senior CLASS Award.

The Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award is presented annually to the nation's senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball. Last year's inaugural award winners were Juan Dixon of Maryland and Sue Bird of Connecticut.

Thorn, a 5-10 senior guard from Orem, Utah is one of thirty players on the list. Two seniors from other MWC schools are also made the list. They are Jordan Adams from New Mexico and Constance Jinks from UNLV.

The formation of the Senior CLASS Award was announced during last season's college basketball season. The CLASS Award was developed in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional.

Selection criteria is based on a number of factors, the most important being that the recipient must have exhausted their four years of eligibility and have fulfilled their commitment to their respective university. In addition, the recipient must be working toward their degree, be in good academic standing and be of sound moral character.

The performances of the "Players to Watch" for both men and women will be tracked during the season. From that pool of players, a national committee of sportscasters and sportswriters who cover college basketball on the Division I level will select 10 Finalists.

The names of these Finalists will appear on the official ballot during the national voting process in March. The selection of the men's and women's award winner will be based on the cumulative ballots of the national media committee and Division I college basketball coaches. The winner will be announced during the respective NCAA Final Four events in March.

The list of women's "Players to Watch" include representatives from 15 conferences, eight of which have multiple players on the list. The SEC also has the most women's players, with six nominations. There are five players on the women's list that were AP All-Americans last season, including two first-team selections.

The 2003 Women's Senior CLASS Award "Players to Watch"

Player School

Jordan Adams University of New Mexico

Chantelle Anderson Vanderbilt University

Kristine Austgulen Virginia Commonwealth University

Gunta Basko Siena University

Tamara Bowie Ball State University

Syretta Bromfield Michigan State University

Coretta Brown University of North Carolina

Courtney Coleman Ohio State University

Molly Creamer Bucknell University

Angela Davidson Northwestern State University

Tamika Dudley Long Island University

Crissy Floyd Clemson University

Cheryl Ford Louisiana Tech University

Caton Hill University of Oklahoma

Constance Jinks UNLV

Trish Juhline Villanova University

Kara Lawson University of Tennessee

Sonja Mallory Georgia Tech University

Ashley McElhiney Vanderbilt University

Loree Payne University of Washington

Jocelyn Penn University of South Carolina

Alicia Ratay University of Notre Dame

Ayisha Smith Louisiana State University

Kate Smith University of Nevada-Reno

Brianne Stepherson Boston College

LaToya Thomas Mississippi State University

Erin Thorn Brigham Young University

Shaquala Williams University of Oregon

Lindsey Wilson Iowa State University

Katie Wolfe Oakland University